Paper Heart
by Shinigami's Lullaby
Summary: Do you know the place between dreams and waking? That is where I'll be waiting. That is where I'll always love you. SakuraSasuke, because even Naruto couldn't fill the hole where her heart used to be. oneshot


**Disclaimer: **Naruto isn't mine.

* * *

**paper  
heart**

_Please just don't play with me,_  
_My paper heart will bleed._  
_This wait for destiny won't do,_  
_Be with me, please, I beseech you._

"Sasuke-kun, _please_, won't you take me with you?" Sakura blossoms pirouette across the night sky as tears drip down her face.

"Goodbye Sakura." Cold as always.

(Is it because I'm weak, Sasuke-kun? Is my love a burden to you?)

She cannot find the strength to put her weakness into words, so he leaves her behind and she watches his silhouette disappear across the horizon.

(But I love you I _love _you I **love **you I LOVE you. And I'll tell you every day until

you love me back.)

Without him, she breaks.

These are the tears she threw away – (they're useless so I don't want them).

This is the smile she threw away – (it's useless so I don't want it).

This is the heart she buried away – (it's _his_ so I don't want it).

But then he came back.

"Sasuke-bastard, what the _fuck_ were you thinking? I thought I'd never see you again!" (Hn.) The fox is happy.

"Nice of you to drop by." (Smirk.) The perv is happy.

Silence. (Frown.) The cherry blossom is not.

Sasuke returns home. Or, rather, to his chosen place of residence. The compound is NOT a home. As he enters, a small heart-shaped slip of paper flutters from the doorjamb. He bends to pick the scrap up and recognizes Sakura's childish scrawl.

_This is my heart, Sasuke-kun!  
I'm giving it to you for safe-keeping  
because I love you the most!_

He crumples the heart in his fist before compulsively smoothing the declaration out and tucking it away in his pocket for later.

He'll save her someday.

* * *

Someday is today.

The Avenger (not so, he reminds himself, because Itachi is dead and, even though he won't admit it to himself, it tears him up inside – the knowledge that his own brother died at his hands. And Itachi was _oh so innocent_ – well, figuratively, at least – and some days Sasuke just wants to kill himself and take Sakura with him because he cannot bear to be alone. Regardless, Avenger he is not.) knocks sharply on Sakura's door.

She hasn't spoken to him once since his return. His trial took place weeks ago. He is unsure of whether to approach her himself, but decides to keep his distance after Naruto helpfully says, "You broke her heart, you crazy bastard. Don't bother my Sakura-chan any more!"

(_His _Sakura-chan? For some reason, this little word made Sasuke's blood boil.)

So he left her alone. Well, until now. Because when Sasuke woke up this morning, something felt different. He couldn't quite describe the feeling, but he knew that something important would happen today. His blood practically _sang _for it. And so he decided to pay his estranged teammate a visit. Just for the hell of it, he reminds himself. Because he definitely doesn't miss her.

Sasuke fingers the heart-shaped piece of paper in his pocket and struggles to remain calm as Sakura lets him into her house. He swallows. She's pale, too pale to be healthy, and looks even more fragile than he remembers. He decides that four years is too long a time to be away from home. (Because home is where the heart is! But if the compound is not home, what is?)

"What do you want?" Sakura asks wearily, perching rigidly on the edge of a pink (of course it's pink, Sasuke thinks) armchair as she motions for her teamate to sit down across from her.

(You – mind body and soul. You are all mine mine mine.)

"To give your heart back," he instead mumbles. He flinches. (_Sasuke, enunciate! How can you expect to live up to your big brother if you can't even speak clearly_? _As an heir to the Uchiha clan, you must be aristocratic in all ways, including diction. Do not make me punish you._) He pulls the heart from his pocket and presses it into Sakura's hand. "You look like you need this more than I do."

Sakura looks sadly down at her heart. "You don't want it, Sasuke-kun?"

(Yes – I want it all. I want your everything.)

"How do you expect to feel better without your heart, Sakura?"

"Do you love me, Sasuke-kun?" she asks quietly, staring up into his dark (not as cold anymore, she notices) eyes.

(Yes yes yes I love you I want you I _need_ you.)

"I don't know."

"Here," Sakura says as she stands and skirts the coffee table to sit next to Sasuke. "I want you to have it – my heart. I'm giving it back to you so you can change your mind. Because I still love you!" Again with that million-watt smile.

(Thank you.)

"Hn," he grunts, stuffing the slip of paper back into his pocket.

She smiles again, but all of a sudden everything is too much for him. He feels like the cream colored walls are closing in around him and Sakura is _too close_. Because she smells fresh and clean and _oh so innocent_ – "Just like Itachi," the dark corner of his mind whispers – and he wants to eat her up because he _loves _her. He can feel it deep in his bones; the knowledge comes to him as easy as breathing. This, these glimpses in time, this happiness, this is his Home.

"Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asks, her apple green eyes (_oh so innocent_, Sasuke. What are you doing with a girl like her?) searching his quickly paling face.

"Thank you, Sakura." He says quietly, almost as an afterthought. Her paper heart burns in his pocket.

She smiles again. "You're welcome! It's all yours, please take care of it." The cherry blossom is happy again, because Sasuke has returned and she will never again have to face this awful, empty loneliness. Even Naruto couldn't fill the hole where her heart used to be.

Sasuke nods. He stands and glides to the front door, escaping the stifling crispness of the cream-colored walls. "The dobe and I are training today, so I have to go," he apologizes before stepping across the threshold. "Goodbye, Sakura."

But this time, things are different, and she's following him out into the sunlight. "Hey, Sasuke-kun, wait for me!"

_Do you know the place between dreams and waking?_

_That is where I'll be waiting._

_That is where I'll always love you._

**Author's Note: **I hope you all liked this! This is my first SakuraSasuke oneshot (of a reasonable lenght). I'd love to hear your feedback, so drop me a review! No flames, but constructive criticism is appreciated. Also, the formatting on my computer has been acting up so please ignore any odd spacing issues.

Gimme an R-E-V-I-E-W! (What does that spell? Review!)

xoxo,

Shinigami's Lullaby


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